Fairfield Library Reopens

Thu., Nov. 25, 1999

Deborah Lawrence Hale Correspondent

The smallest of Spokane County’s branch libraries just got a little bigger.

The newly expanded Fairfield Library reopened on Saturday after a three-month remodeling and expansion project.

A 650-square foot addition gives the library a new meeting room, which will be used for special programs and also will be available to community groups.

Along with the addition, the interior of the existing 1,350-square foot building was completely remodeled, new heating and air conditioning systems were installed and the electrical system was updated.

“I think our customers are just going to be thrilled when they walk in,” Mary Kay Anderson, librarian at the Fairfield branch, said.

In addition, the building’s main entryway, sidewalk and parking area were redone for easier handicap access.

“In the past, people used to scramble up a slope from the parking lot,” said Priscilla Ice, Spokane County Library District regional manager.

The improvements, which cost $375,000, were funded by county voters in 1996 as part of a capital improvement bond. The Friends of the Library provided $5,000 for enhancements to the entryway.

“Besides celebrating the reopening of an updated and improved facility to serve southeast county residents, we’re celebrating the completion of the last major project of our current capital improvement program,” said Spokane County Library District Director Mike Wirt.

Fairfield has had a local library since the beginning of the century, Anderson said. Originally, the library’s shelves were stocked with books donated by Fairfield residents.

Today, the library is home to 12,000 volumes and is patronized by about 700 registered borrowers, according to Ice.

“We’ve also come full circle,” Wirt said. “Fairfield was the first town to contract with the library district for library service in the 1940s and in the late 1960s was the first to construct a library building. We appreciate Fairfield’s 50-year partnership in support of library services.”

LIBRARY HOURS The Fairfield Library is at 303 E. Main in Fairfield. Regular hours are 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesdays, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Thursdays and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays.

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